


I'm Tired

by Balderdashery



Category: RWBY
Genre: Comfort, Confrontations, Depression, F/F, F/M, Loss, Recovery, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 03:59:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18402656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Balderdashery/pseuds/Balderdashery
Summary: Everyone has different ways of dealing with grief. Some fight through their demons and work to progress on with their lives out of defiance. Some run from guilt and tragedy because it's easier than facing it. Others become broken and need someone else to help them pick up the pieces. And some need closure before they can even become a semblance of who they once were.There is no right or wrong way to deal with grief. The best answer anyone can come up with is the one that helps them live with themselves.Sometimes people just need a little help to get there.





	I'm Tired

It seemed like the worst was over when you confronted Adam at Haven Academy and united the Faunus against both oppression from humans and the use of violence as a solution to the problem. 

But then by some divine intervention you immediately run into the team that you had come to love over the past few months and abandoned over fear of Adam hurting them, every criminal on Vale’s most wanted list who were (of course) fighting your old team as well as team JNR, and to top it all off, you’re apparently now part of some huge end of the world saving quest to collect all the relics guarded by the four maidens (who were until a few days ago just another fairytale that you had written off when you were four) and are heading to Atlas with professor Ozpin who, on top of not being dead, is now a young child who goes by Oscar….sometimes. 

So needless to say things had gotten a bit more confusing. 

It had already been a few days since things had settled and everyone was living in Heaven Academy dorms for the time being. Although Atlas had most communication systems blocked as well as the biggest embargo and blockade in history, the news still got around of the headmaster of Haven Academy’s dealings with Salem as well as his involvement in multiple huntsman and huntress deaths in the past few months. The city had asked Crow as well as Ozpin (Oscar) to stay and help manage the oncoming students for Havens school year until a new Headmaster could be appointed. 

Everyone was taking your return better than you had expected, Juane and the rest of his team gladly welcomed you back, you’re sure they were just happy to see another friendly face that had survived all of this. Weiss had changed a lot since the last time you’d seen her, she only gave one long lecture about the importance of sticking together and honoring the promise that they had made back when her team had realized that you were a member of the White Fang before wrapping you in a tight hug and admitting how much she had missed you. You almost cried again but settled for apologizing again and thanking her for being so forgiving. 

Yang was….different than how you thought she'd be. You expected to get punched, maybe a lot, screaming, crying, some fireballs and at least a few thousand dollars worth of property damage before she finally cooled down and would at least stand to be in the same room as you. But that wasn't the case and you kind of wish it was. She didn’t scream, she barely talked to you and only if she needed to. She flat out ignored you for the first three days before blocking you off in a hallway and telling you that Weiss had a talk with her and that while she wasn’t ready to forgive you yet, she would try to be as reasonable as she could because she understood why you left. She doesn't agree with it, but she understood why it happened. She still hated you for breaking her trust, but it was more than you could ever ask for. 

Never in your entire life did you think you’d ever be so grateful to a Schnee. No, Weiss. Just Weiss. She’d renounced her blood family and found one in all of us. 

You regret leaving more than anything else in your life. A dark corner of your mind tells you that you only came back because you conquered your fear of Adam and that you would leave the moment things got hard again. You spend as much time with your friends as you can to push that thought away. 

But the person who surprised you the most was Ruby. You remember a young, energetic girl with silver eyes that couldn’t help but spring everywhere she went, and sleep through class, and annoyed Weiss without even realizing she was doing it. A young huntress in training that had joined for all the right reasons, and always brought a smile to your face when you thought about how that innocence of hers might just outlive everyone. You remember Ruby Rose, the fearless leader of team RWBY, who tried her best to help anyone she could and never shied away from doing the right thing. 

This is not the Ruby you remember. 

You didn’t think anyone else had noticed, Ruby had looked ecstatic to see you and in public, she acted just how you remembered when you were attending Beacon. But as time passed you began to notice small periods of time where her smile would fade when she thought no one was looking and she would blankly stare off into space. At first, you just thought that this was just from fatigue from everything that had happened recently.

Then one night you picked a different room than the one you had been using solely for convenience sake, none of the new students would be arriving for another week so any of the rooms were theirs for the taking. About twenty minutes after you had settled in for the night you heard the door open and are a little surprised to see Ruby walk into the room. You were sure she'd be bunking with Yang. While it was pitch black to Ruby as she walked in, you were in the middle of reading one of your novels, not bothered by the lack of light because of your Faunus traits. 

You sat there perfectly still, watching her cross her legs and crunch into a little ball while she continued to stare at the far corner of the room. Moments turned into minutes and then into hours as you continued to sit there, any chance for you to speak up and announce your presence to her lost in your bewildered curiosity of this new side of Ruby. Eventually, she went to bed, but not before you saw her wipe her face with the blanket, and only then do you realize that she had been crying silently while sitting there.

You had trouble sleeping that night, your mind trying to process Ruby’s change in behavior on top of all the crazy things that had happened this week. In the morning Ruby was a bit surprised to see you getting up from the other bed, but you just good-naturedly explain that you had stayed up late reading and found the first available bed that night. She looked relieved and you have to mask the worry you feel over the young team leader.

Yang needed to know about this.

You find her in Havens training room, sparring with Weiss. Her prosthetic arm easily keeping up with the rest of her body as she dodged Weiss’s precise slashes and thrusts in exchange for close body shots that may not have all connected, but kept the heiress off balance enough to keep the fight in the blonds favor. 

Weiss’s eyes meet yours, and the heiress immediately jumped away from Yang and motioned towards you. The blonds head spun in your direction and a glare immediately set on her face. You suppose tolerating your presence was about all Yang would do for now, but that didn’t mean she still didn't need to know. 

“Mind if I join you?” You ask, already unhooking Gambol Shroud from its holster. Weiss nodded and Yang just shrugged. Walking over to Weiss’s side as you will your aura to shroud you in a protective purplish glow. 

“When were you two planning to go too.” You ask as Yang walks back over to her bag to reload her weapons. 

“Well, we were going to stop whenever one of us landed a good hit. But if it’s gonna be two on one, let’s go until the other side gives.” Yang stretched her arms, letting her aura flow throughout her body before crashing her fists together with a fiery burst of energy that caused her hair to glow and heat to radiate around her. 

Weiss readied her rapier but eyed Yang cautiously, “This isn’t a serious fight you two, don’t get reckless.”

Yang just smirked and locked eyes with you, jumping lightly up and down while she spoke. 

“It’s fine. Blake doesn't mind getting a little serious. Do you Blake?”

It was a provocation. You know Yang wanted to see if you would rise the challenge, or run away just like when she needed you the mo-

“I’d be happy too.” You say as you quickly switch to the gun form of Gambol Shroud and cocked a round into the chamber. You know you shouldn’t be raising to Yang’s bait like this, this wasn’t about Ruby and this wasn’t going to help anything between the two of you.

But maybe it didn’t have to. 

Weiss shot you a look that told you weren't helping things and Yang seemed to be a bit taken aback by your enthusiasm. But it was immediately replaced with jittery excitement that always came before a fight. Jumping in place, she sized both of you up carefully, trying to judge the best way to start this. 

You and Weiss both braced yourselves when she unloaded her gauntlets and fired an opening volley in your direction.

Bright red flaming metal shoots towards you and Weiss as you trigger your semblance and feel the aura made clone take the brunt of the explosion while you leap backward away from the blast. Weiss had done the same thanks to her glyphs and at first, you think the only thing those shots accomplished was creating more distance between you and Weiss and Yang. Until a gigantic cloud of dust and debris completely blocked your view of the blond huntress. 

By the time Weiss had loaded in the right dust veil on her rapier, another volley of shots had already broken through the smoke heading straight for the heiress. While Yang burst through the smoke in a giants fireball charging straight for you. You barely have time to see Weiss block the blasts with a glyph and another cloud of dust bloom above you before Yang was on you. 

Combinations had never been Yang strong suit. Sure, she could do them, but when it came to any team combos the two of you created back at Beacon they mainly focused on Yang charging in the front while Blake flanked from the side. But now you were surprised to find the blond huntress differentiating between close quarters brawling and mid ranged shots. 

You duck the first hook, feeling the heat from her aura singe the tips of your hair as her fists swings over your head. You would have taken the uppercut straight to the head if you didn't notice her mechanical arm starting the motion for the swing. Rolling to the side you try to decide on what to do to counter and just settle for switching Gamble Shroud into its gun form and keeping her distance. Her aura soaks up most of the shots but it was nice to see that you had thrown her off her rhythm, working together for so many months gave you a sense of what your partner was going to do next.

Unfortunately, the same also went for you as well. 

Yang fired into the ground, launching herself into the air and charging towards you at the same time. You almost panic and swing wildly until you see Weiss poised in ready to lunge forward, looking at you intently. A silent message passed between the two of you and just as Yang was in striking distance, you had swapped out your normal ammunition to the custom made dust rounds that Weiss had made for you in advance. Apparently, both you and the heiress were ready to finish this as quickly as possible.

Yang didn’t realize what was going on until her first punch connected with the black haze of your semblance which quickly materialized into a solid stone clone of you, trapping her fist halfway through the stone and stalling her for just a few precious moments while her mind processed this new information. 

Weiss was quick to send a blast of ice in Yang's direction, trapping her in ice as well as the stone clone created by your semblance. Of course, all of this was temporary and Yang would break of her restraints as soon she let her aura run wild from her anger, but you and Weiss had done what you had set out to do. 

You had bought enough time for Weiss to focus on you. 

Yang knew about you and Weiss’s checkmate combo, and honestly, it wasn’t that hard to counter as long as you knew where to strike. But Weiss knew that this seemed to be a ‘you and Yang sorting things out in your own way’ kind of thing, so it was only fair that you faced Yang head on. The only problem was that when it came to a one on one fight, Yang beat you outright almost every time, your styles were just too incompatible for it to be a fair fight. 

Unless Weiss used her semblance to boost your aura to insane levels. That could even things out a bit. 

The gigantic clockwork glyph appeared underneath your feet, Weiss’s aura began to surge through you, building with intensity with every second. The ice surrounding Yang began to crack and shake as a red glow and steam started to form around Yangs figure. The feeling of energy pouring into you was almost indescribable, the closest you could get was blood revitalizing a limb after it fell asleep. It kept building until you felt like if you didn’t move right this second you were going to explode. 

Just when you thought you couldn’t take it anymore the ice around Yang burst into a thousand little pieces that bounced light this way and that, making an ensemble of rainbows dancing through the air. Just for a moment, you felt your chest tighten and your stomach flutter at the sight of the blond in the center of the ice and flames. 

You shook the thoughts from your head and promised yourself that you would look into it later. 

Yang’s eyes widened with the realization of what you were up to just as you lept from your starting point with unparalleled speed. You’d never gone this fast before and the distance between the two of you was closed in an instant. 

For a split second, you wonder if this is how Ruby feels when she dashes around in a storm of rose petals. 

You hadn’t really had the time to think of a plan while Weiss’s aura had poured into you. The energy boost had almost acted like a sort of high that had clouded your thoughts of everything but the new energy coursing through your veins. You had just assumed that you would charge at her literally head on and knock her down and out with force of your impact. 

So you were more than a bit surprised when Yang sidestepped your charge and sent you tumbling across the floor just by extending her foot. The closest example you could come up with to how it felt was someone skipping a rock across the water, except you were the rock, and the water was the floor. And you were currently flying across the arena until you ceremoniously slammed against the opposite wall face first. 

She tripped you, and now you were sprawled out against the far end of the arena trying to figure out why the room wouldn’t stop spinning. Even if your aura had stifled most of the damage from the impact, it didn’t leave out the possibility that you may have suffered a slight concussion. 

Laughter rang across the training room as you groggily got on your feet. The ringing in your ears hadn’t stopped entirely but everything had finally started to stay in place, so you suppose that was a start. 

Yang was currently laughing so hard that she was at risk of falling onto her back. Weiss, at least, was jogging over to you with a look of concern. 

“Are you alright?” The heiress asked as she made it over to you. 

“Fine, hurt my pride more than anything.” 

To your annoyance, it seemed like Weiss was having a very hard time trying not to grin as Yang’s laughter continued to fill the hall. It seemed like it was contagious as Weiss covered her mouth with her hand as she turned out of your view. Heat rose to your cheeks as you walked past the heiress to Yang who was on the floor trying to catch her breath as tears ran down her face. 

“Are you finished?” You asked, watching the blonde huntress catch her breath as she went to wipe her eyes with her arm. You notice how she had first reached for her eyes with her prosthetic before reaching over with her now dominant hand. 

There’s a deep pang of guilt in your chest, but you lost any right to feel sorry for yourself when you left. Now all you could do was wait until she was ready for you to try to make it up to her. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” She said still in good spirits, “Didn’t think you had it in you to charge in headfirst like that.” 

“I couldn’t think of anything better at that moment.” 

“Well judging how well that worked out for you,” Yang said with a grin, “ya might need to let your ideas roll around in your head a little longer before you actually try them.” 

A pun…...you’ve never been so happy to hear a pun in your goddamn life. It might not have been a but it was a start. 

You try your hardest not to laugh because if you do you’ll probably do something stupid like cry too. 

“Hey. Earth to Blake?” Yang says breaking your train of thought. 

"Sorry, head’s still a little fuzzy.” She nodes, looking you up and down for anything that seemed serious. Your clothes were a little burnt and torn from the fight but besides your head your pretty sure your fine. 

“Need to go get Jaune?” Yang asked, jamming a mechanical thumb towards the exit. “Gotta say Vomit Boy’s pretty useful now that he’s unlocked his semblance.” 

You smile at the old nickname, it seemed like another lifetime they had all been standing on top of launch pads ready to take on their first trial at Beacon. Things had been easier then, simpler. 

They were just kids back then. 

“I’ll find him later. Can we talk for a sec? There’s something really important I need to tell you.” You ask, finally trying to get to the point of all this. 

She cocks one eyebrow up at you suspiciously, any sense of humor gone from her features at the change in your tone. It seemed like she still wasn’t ready to discuss anything concerning the two of you just yet. You couldn’t blame her. 

“Alright.” Bringing herself to her feet, Yang waved over at Weiss who was busy reloading dust cartridges in her rapier and shouted. “Hey! Me and Blake are gonna go find Jaune.” 

With a final thumbs up from the heiress the two of you exited the hallway and started towards the dorms.

**Author's Note:**

> Criticism is the best support you could give me. Chapter 2 is in the works and should be out before the end of the month. 
> 
> You may smite me for this, but I will only die laughing.


End file.
